WCU, Immaculata golf trying to make noise on national stage

EAST WHITELAND -- With West Chester becoming a postseason fixture, and upstart Immaculata making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA’s, college golf in Chester County is, indeed, flourishing.

A longtime golf pro at Whitford Country Club in Exton, head coach Harry Hammond has WCU into the NCAA Division II Regionals for the third straight year. And former Division I player and coach, Tana Thomas, has orchestrated the first conference crown since she started the IU men’s program from scratch eight years ago.

“We are over the moon about it,” said Thomas.

“We are now raising our expectations,” Hammond pointed out. “We are able to meet some of our goals instead of just thinking or dreaming about it.”

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The next step for the Golden Rams is to do what Hammond’s 2011 and 2012 teams were unable to do: advance to the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships. To make that happen, West Chester needs a top three finish at the Atlantic & East Regional, to be held through Thursday at the Oglebay-Resort in Wheeling, W. Va.

“That’s the challenge, and it’s getting more and more difficult to do,” said Hammond. “The top five teams used to advance but now it’s only the top three. So that means we will have to beat 17 of 20 teams in order to get to nationals.”

Thomas and the Mighty Macs, on the other hand, have already punched their ticket to the NCAA Division III Championships May 14-17 at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Destin, Fla., by virtue of the automatic bid that comes with winning the Colonial State’s Athletic Conference title.

“I started the program in 2006 and it is super exciting to get to this point,” Thomas said. “It took a lot of work along the way and now it’s evolved into this bonafide Division III program.

“I can’t tell you how many former players have contacted me. I am proud to be a part of something like this.”

Immaculata’s Aaron Harper, Todd Boisvert and Peter Kotula each placed in the top-10 to help the team edge runner-up Cabrini by eight strokes last Saturday at Glenmaura National Gold Club in Moosic.

“It wasn’t a comfortable victory,” said Thomas, who lives in Phoenixville with her husband and three young children. “Eight strokes spread among four players per team isn’t much, and 16 of 18 holes had water hazards, so there were bogey’s and double bogeys all around.”

By day two of the 36-hole CSAC Tournament, Thomas had an inkling that her team could finish first, so she set up the final round pairings so she could walk the final hole with her two seniors, Boisvert and Tim Eckert.

“It was super fun, and they both birdied the 18th hole – that was awesome,” Thomas acknowledged.

“You get to really know your players over the course of four years. And when their careers are over, it’s both happy and sad. It’s a lot like the feelings you have when you are graduating your own child.”

At WCU, junior Connor Lefever and senior Griffith Basehore have been mainstays all season, helping the Rams finish the regular season ranked sixth in the region. Lefever has four top-five individual finishes in 2012-13, including a third at the PSAC Championships and sports an 18-hole average of 73. Basehore won the Atlantic Region Invitational and is averaging a 74.

“Connor’s played very well. He’s matured, and now he’s a co-captain,” Hammond said.

“(Basehore) has been an important piece of the puzzle to make this program better and more competitive. The regional could be his last tournament unless we are lucky enough to get to nationals.”

West Chester is coming off an impressive top-three team finish at the Challenge at Mystic Rock near Pittsburgh. The Rams finished higher than any PSAC team in the field, and moved up a notch in the regional rankings.

“They played very well on a very difficult course in cold weather and high winds,” Hammond said. “It was good confidence builder.”

Sophomores Austin Mann, Ryan Fogel and Eric Slawter have also been consistent contributors this season. With everybody except Basehore expected to return next season, and a heralded recruiting class coming in, WCU has the look of a program on a steady rise. Hammond is particularly excited about adding Zachary Boe of Hilton Head, S.C., to the roster next fall.

“He is one of the best players I’ve ever worked,” Hammond said.

Prior to coming to Immaculata, Thomas had previous experience starting the women’s golf programs at Division III Smith College (Mass.) and at Division I Northern Arizona. But that doesn’t mean that the Mighty Macs’ breakthrough campaign was any less gratifying.

“I love coaching. It’s truly a part of who I am,” said Thomas, who was a member if Arizona State’s 1990 NCAA Championship team.

“I took this job when I started a family and I didn’t have nearly as much time to devote to it as I did when I was at Northern Arizona. But now, we play all year long, so it’s a lot more work than when I started. It’s a full-time job this time of year.”

The IU roster currently sports just six players, which wasn’t an issue this season the way it was a year ago.

“I think we probably could have (the CSAC crown) last year, but I had one kid leave in the middle of the semester and that was devastating,” said Thomas, who was named the CSAC Coach of the Year for the third time.

“It was quite a transition going to Immaculata, but I love it. Recruiting athletes without scholarships and trying to teach athletes whose primary goals are to go to school, not to play golf, is totally different from coaching at the Division I level.

“I have to remind myself sometimes that this is Division III and this is an important supplement to their collegiate career, but it’s not the central focus.”